Emerald Star
by Legends-Told
Summary: AU Will and his partner Ninetales stumble upon a secret finally revealing itself to the world...Chapter Three Update: It's contest time! However, it seems that some people had the same idea as Will and Echo...
1. Speak!

Chapter One: Speak!

"Go, Marshtomp!"

"Get'm, Ninetales!"

Small red and white spheres flew into the air, exploding with translucent red light which twisted through the air before landing. The named Pokémon appeared from the light, landing on the ground, Ninetales coming down to earth gracefully and softly, Marshtomp landing with a thud and a battle pose. Instantly, their respective trainers shouted commands.

"Marshtomp, use Take Down!"

Marshtomp let out a battle cry and charged at the Ninetales. Ninetales stood her ground, staring at the dual-type Pokémon fiercely.

"Confuse Ray!" Will, Ninetale's trainer, called. Ninetale's eyes gleamed and the Marshtomp faltered, his eyes glazing over. Marshtomp suddenly veered to the left and rammed into a tree headfirst. The Pokémon wobbled away from the tree, obviously disoriented.

Marshtomp shook his head rapidly and glared at Ninetales, inhaling deeply. Suddenly, the air felt parched, as if something had ripped the moisture from the air. Marshtomp stamped his webbed feet into the ground and released the water taken from the air into a powerful stream.

"Ninetales! Protect!"

Before another order could be shouted or the move could be taken back, Marshtomp's water gun splashed uselessly over the shielded fire-type.

"Great job, Ninetales! Now use Quick Attack!"

Ninetales sang her battle cry and charged, spinning at the end of her dash to whip Marshtomp with all nine tails. Marshtomp fell to the left and landed with a thud.

Marshtomp's trainer ran over to his Pokémon and helped it stand. Will walked over to the team, followed by Ninetales, and held out a hand to his opponent.

"That was a good battle, Joey!" Will said with a smile. Joey blinked in confusion, then took the offered hand with a laugh.

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"Nice day, huh, Ninetales," Will said softly. Ninetales replied in a sleepy voice.

Both trainer and Pokémon lay on their backs, staring up at the evening sky through the trees, Will's golden hair smashed against the grass and Ninetale's many tails sprawled all over the place. A camp fire burned at their feet, breaking the twilight silence with occasional crackles.

Will yawned and Ninetales stood up and walked over to a tree stump on which her Pokeball lay open. She nudged it with her black nose and looked over to Will, who had by then sat up. The trainer stood and reached for the Pokeball.

"Ok then. Return, Ninetales." The Pokeball sent out a beam red light and Ninetales disappeared. Will set the Pokeball back on the stump and crawled into his blue sleeping bag.

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Night settled over Hoenn, but somewhere on Route 121, a lone trainer had trouble sleeping. Will stared up at the stars, fiddling with a small green slip of paper hanging around his neck on a thin chain. Frustrated at his lack of sleep, his unzipped the sleeping bag and crawled out, and occupied himself with poking at the few remaining embers in the dead fire with a stick. Finding the embers rather uninteresting, he drew a piece of cloth out of his pocket and reached for Ninetale's Pokeball.

As his finger's closed over the sphere, Will realized something. The Pokeball was open!

Will stood up with a yell and looked around the campsite frantically for any sign of Ninetales, then noticed some pawprints on the ground. He sighed in relief, recognizing them as Ninetale's, and followed then to a rocky cliff. Sure enough, a shadowed figure sat on the cliff, and, by the light of the moon, Will could recognize the pale yellow mane of a Ninetales.

"Ninetales! There you are!" Will exclaimed. The figure turned around in surprise and Will straightened up immediately in equal surprise. The figure on the cliff wasn't a Pokémon, but a human girl.

"Oh! Sorry!" Will apologized. "I thought you were, uh…well…A Pokémon…You see, my friend Ninetales has run off and uh…Have you seen a Ninetales run past here?" Will was mentally kicking himself for sounding so stupid…as usual…

"Sorry, I haven't," the girl replied, her brown eyes wide and blinking. "I'd imagine it would be hiding in the woods somewhere…"

Will looked down, worried about his friend. "Right…"

The girl noticed this and decided to chip in a bit of encouragement. "Don't worry, she'll turn up! Good luck finding her, Will!"

"Thanks…" Will smiled, then froze. "Wait…how do you know my name…?"

The girl sat up straight. "Oh! Is that really your name? Huh, I thought you looked like a Will! I'm good at guessing names, you see! And while we're on names…I'm Echo, ok?"

"Ok, Echo, thanks," Will replied with a wave. "See you around, and be careful out here." He turned around and walked back into the forest with both a sigh of disappointment and relief. "That was weird…I _look_ like a Will!"

As Will moved out of sight, Echo smiled softly and looked back to the moon. The wind kicked up slightly.

Suddenly, the figure on the rock was gone.

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"Nine?" Ninetales stared at Will as he walked back into the campsite, leaves stuck in his hair and a twig sticking out of the white knapsack hanging by his side.

"Ninetales! Where have you been?"

Ninetales answered by picking up a cup-shaped leaf full of clear water.

"Hmph, get me worried over nothing…" Will muttered under his breath and walked over to his sleeping bag. He glanced back at his innocent-looking Pokémon and to her Pokeball. He shrugged. Might as well give Ninetales some freedom for the night. She seemed to take it on her own anyways.

Will crawled into his sleeping bag and slow, soft breaths were heard shortly afterwards.

Ninetales sighed and dumped the water into the firepit before settling down on a patch of cushiony grass.

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Will woke up the next morning to a paw on his nose and brown eyes staring down at him.

"Yeah, good morning to you too, Ninetales!" Will said, swatting the paw off his face. He sat up and stretched in a cat-like fashion before rolling up his sleeping bag. Ninetales gathered up Will's knapsack and set it by his feet while he pulled on his shoes. Having completed their morning ritual of getting ready to leave, the duo stood up, checked the atlas, and began walking east.

Ninetales walked along casually, biting at some of the berry bushes they passed while Will had his nose buried in the world map. He ran a finger along route 121, mapping the direction to their destination.

"Ok, I think if we keep on going east like this, we'll get to Lilycove City by 9:00!"

"Tales!"

"Hmm?" Will looked up only a moment before crashing into another person. A very angry looking person.

"Hey, watch where you're going, twerp!" the person yelled.

Will backed up and bowed his head in apology. "Sorry! I didn't, uh…see you there…Sorry!"

Ninetales rolled her eyes and gave Will a light shove.. Will blinked, and looked at the person he had run into. Black, loose pants, a black and blue striped shirt, and a bandana with the insignia of a skull…

"What are _you_ staring at?"

"T-team Aqua!"

The Team Aqua grunt grinned evilly. "Oh, you've heard of us then?"

Will stepped forward, defiantly. Indeed he had heard of them, and all their villainous deeds. "What are you doing here?"

"Like I'd tell you! Send'em away, Mightyena!"

The dark wolf landed on the ground and growled at Ninetales fiercely. Ninetales backed away a step, but then brought back the courage to face her opponent.

The grunt seemed to have an idea and called out his first order to the Mightyena.

"Mightyena, use Odor Sleuth!" The Mightyena's nose twitched, sniffing the air for Ninetale's aroma. It turned back to its owner with a growling grin.

Will frowned, confused. Odor Sleuth was generally only used against ghost-types or Pokémon that had used double team. Sure, it would be harder to evade attacks, but…

The trainer looked at his Ninetales, only to become more confused. Ninetales looked shocked, carrying on a heated conversation in the language only Pokémon could understand with the Mightyena.

"Ninetales! Flamethrower!" Will commanded, shaking off the confusion and throwing his thoughts into the battle. Ninetales let loose a stream of fire, turning the Mightyena's already dark fur charcoal black. The Mightyena glared at Ninetales who had just breathed a puff of fire in a mocking way.

"Why you little…Bite, Mightyena!"

"Flamethrower again, Ninetales!"

Mightyena charged and Ninetales got in position for another Flamethrower. The dog bared its teeth and the fox exhaled the fire.

Will shielded his eyes from the brilliant fire with an arm, and when the fire and smoke had cleared away, the result of the battle was clear.

Mightyena was on the ground a few feet from Ninetales, charred and unconscious. A red light surrounded the Mightyena and the Team Aqua member scowled.

"You have no idea how much trouble you're in, kid! I'll be back and you won't get away!"

Will and Ninetales both shot the grunt a confident 'you-wanna-bet?' look.

The villain disappeared into the woods without another threat.

"I wonder what that was all about…" Will asked himself, looking down at Ninetales.

Ninetales turned her head towards Will and opened her mouth.

"We shouldn't stay here much longer, Will," she said sadly.

A startled scream rang through the forest, scaring multiple birds from the trees.

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Hey, and welcome to Emerald Star, yet another Pokemon fanfiction ready to rock the universe...I hope! Some readers may know me already from my first story, "Sneaky Wobbuffet," but for those who don't, I hope you stick around to read the next chapter! Ah, and if you notice any spelling errors/grammar errors/awkward wording/etc. and stuff like that, could you pretty please inform me ASAP? Other forms of Constructive Critism is more than welcome! ) 


	2. Echo's Explanation

Will rubbed his temples as if it would allow his poor brain to process the newly gained information. Unfortunately for him, it didn't work. Ninetales sat in front of him, looking apologetic.

Ninetales, however, wasn't Ninetales. At the moment, anyways.

In her place sat Echo, dressed in a fiery orange shirt and blue jeans. The only clue that she was or ever had been a Ninetales was her mane of light blonde hair and the soft brown eyes.

"Ok, let me get this straight…" Will said slowly. "You're a Pokemon…_and_ you're a human…"

Echo paused for a second, thinking of a way that could describe the situation in a more simple fashion. "Mmmm, yup."

Will gave her a pained expression and asked in an equally pained voice, "Since when?"

Echo shrugged. "Since forever. I'm pretty sure I was born this way."

"Wow, so…all that time…Even back then…Nine—I mean Echo! Umm…are there more…PokeHumans?"

Echo wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Ew, PokeHumans? Doesn't exactly have a wonderful ring to it…Remind me to think of a better name later. Anyways, yes." She paused for another moment. "I think. One for each Pokemon, I'm guessing, maybe more."

"Ugh…" Will let himself fall backwards so half of his body was still in a sitting position and the other half was flat on the ground. He heard a slight shuffling sound and felt a sharp finger jab his stomach.

Echo's face appeared in his view, blocking out the sunlight. "Will, are you okay?" she asked.

Will closed his eyes, stood up, and brushed himself off. "I will be, eventually. But we should get going. I mean, that Team Aqua guy is after you right?"

"Yeah, now he is," Echo grumbled. She held out a arm and concentrated. The arm caught on fire and the fire spread, completely engulfing Echo. The fire died as quickly as it came, and when it died Ninetales stood in Echo's place.

Will shuddered. "Do you have to change back like that?" he asked. "It's kinda scary watching your best friend suddenly catch fire…"

Echo laughed, strangely still sounding human. "Sorry, but I don't think I can change back any other way."

"Fine, let's just get going before someone finds us."

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Hours later, after possibly hundreds of back and forth, question and answer conversations, Echo and Will reached the gate of Lilycove City, both sighing in relief at the thought of being able to relax in a Pokemon Center. Echo happily marched into the city, but Will slowed down.

"Ninetales?" Echo asked, needing to act like a real Pokemon in the presence of other people.

"Echo, I've been thinking…what about the other…uh…" he moved his hands in a way that said 'you know what I'm talking about.' "If there are more, what if Team Aqua's after them too?"

Echo shot him a look that clearly said, 'you couldn't have mentioned this to me before we walked into the city?'

"Well, I couldn't think of how to say it!"

Echo frowned and shook her head in exasperation.

"Anyways, if Team Aqua's after them, we should help them, right? We should warn them about what Team Aqua's up to!" Will suggested brightly.

Echo raised an eyebrow and looked around quickly. "Is this some hero thing you've suddenly gotten into?" she asked quietly, clearly speaking human.

"What, don't you want to stop them? We're already wanted by Team Aqua, so we might as well stop them. And what if they've found a legendary Pokemon!"

"A legendary, huh? Is this because seeing a legendary would be really, really cool, or…?"

Will smiled. "A little bit…That and because we _need_ to stop Team Aqua!"

Echo rolled her eyes. "Fine, but where do we start?" She looked around the town, searching for any clue. Will followed suit and their eyes meet the same location: A piece of paper taped to the side of a building.

Calling all Pokemon Fans!

This Saturday, the Lilycove Department Store

Will be hosting the 1st annual

Pokemon Look-a-Like Contest!

Saturday, June 25

11:00 a.m.

Entrants sign up at the Department Store prior to 10:30 a.m.

Will grabbed the paper and re-read it, holding it out so Echo could read it as well. They grinned and looked at each other.

"Should we?"

Echo replied with a smug grin and raced into a dark alley. Will slid over the opening, covering it as much as he could with his thin body. The shadow of flames covered the wall briefly and a finger tapped his shoulder. He moved out of the way as Echo brushed a small amount of soot from her sleeve.

"Well, I'll be entering for sure. Heck, even as a human I still look like a Ninetales!" Echo laughed. "But you…"

"Hmmm?" Will answered, eyes wide. "What?"

"You should probably join too…Just so we can both go early, y'know?"

Will stepped back and raised his hands defensively. "Uh, that's okay. Besides, I don't look like any Pokemon."

"Sure you do!" exclaimed Echo. She raised a hand to her mouth and placed the other on her left hip in a thoughtful pose. She stared at Will, thinking…

Echo pounded a fist into an open palm. "I've got it!" she reached up and grabbed a couple tufts of Will's golden hair on either side of his head, pulling it up straight. "Pikachu!"

Will swatted her away and fixed his hair. "Seriously, it's ok. I'll be out in the crowd."

The Ninetales looked disappointed, but agreed. "Fine, I'll enter it alone…"she said. "But you had better be careful! Got it?" she finished with a grin, grabbing the paper from his hands and jogging up to the Department Store.

Will stared at her as she disappeared up the hill and shook his head. "A Ninetales that can become a human…What else?" he said to himself quietly. Well, might as well find the Pokemon Center… He walked off, casually looking for the building and eventually stopping to ask a citizen of the city for directions.

In the bushes at the sides of the roads, someone was watching his every move…

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Hey, thanks for reading the second chapter! Since I forgot to do this last time...I don't own anything! Nope! Nothing at all besides myself!

And thanks for the wonderful review, Nyaa-Neko!


	3. Future Sight

Disclaimer (since I'm pretty sure that I keep on forgetting it…): I don't own Pokemon. At all. Nope! Not I! Original Characters Mine. Pokemon Stuff Whoever owns Pokemon. Other stuff Whoever can legally claim it…;

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Echo hummed playfully as she walked through the store, glancing at all the items for sale with interest. She stopped at a group of belts, raising an inquiring eyebrow to her favorite accessory, but remembered the paper in her hand and walked away.

Suddenly, she laughed silently, recognizing her unusual behavior. What Ninetales would act as she had? When was the last time she was able to act like this? After being a Ninetales for so long, human interests (such as belts!) were left behind, but were suddenly rushing back.

Poor Will, she thought. He must think I've gone insane!

Echo stopped.

"Will…" she whispered in realization. Team Aqua would undoubtedly be after them now and they would stop at nothing to find her.

"_Mightyena, use Odor Sleuth!"_

_Mightyena sniffed the air, catching Echo's scent with his sensitive nose. He growled victoriously. _

"_You're one of them, aren't you? Neither human or Pokemon!"_

_Uh-oh…Echo growled back. "What are you talking about?"_

"_Was that fear I saw? Fear of your secret being let out?" _

"_I have no secret!" Echo hissed, tensing up._

"_Either way, we'll be after you…you and your master."_

"Crap…" muttered Echo, banging her head against a nearby column in frustration. Why did Will have to get involved…

"Can I help you, miss?"

Echo composed herself and spun around to come face to face with a tall man. His clothes and coat were both a dark shade of blue, nearly black, and he had light blue hair standing like a royal crown. Behind small glasses, he stared at Echo with mahogany brown eyes and a small smile.

Echo blushed slightly and remembered the paper in her hand, which she held up to the man. "I'm, uh…looking for the Contest Sign-ups. You wouldn't happen to know where it is, would you?"

The man smiled and pushed his glasses up a bit. "Of course." He pointed towards a hallway just beyond the Pokemon Dolls. "Down that hall you'll find signs leading to the sign-up and the dressing rooms. It might help if you didn't stop to bang your head against poles on the way…" He laughed lightly.

"Err, right…thanks!" Echo took back the paper and walked to the hall slowly, watching over her shoulder as the man went about his own business as well in a hurried fashion. She stopped briefly, but only to release the breath she had been holding.

She walked on.

--------------------------------

"Here's your entry form. Be sure to turn it in at least 10 minutes before the contest begins"

"Got it." Echo took the sheet and a pencil and began to scribble down the general information such as her name and the Pokemon she would be 'dressed up' as later, muttering quietly as she filled out the form.

Suddenly, another form was beside hers, being filled out as well. Echo stole a glance at the entrant's neat handwriting.

Name: Zeffie Schuler

Pokemon: Gardevoir

The Ninetales looked up at Zeffie with a slight bit of curiosity and was stunned. She _did_ look like Gardevoir! She had short green hair, part of it covering her left eye, and wore a silver shirt with matching pants, both articles of clothing colored the same green on the sleeves and below the knees. But, was the resemblance real, or not?

"You're entering as Gardevoir?" the lady handing out the entry forms asked casually.

"Of course!" Zeffie replied happily. "Everyone always says that I bear a natural resemblance to Gardevoir."

Echo grinned inwardly. Yep.

Zeffie seemed to notice Echo's eyes on her. "Oh, hello! You're entering the contest too?"

Echo nodded. "Yeah, I'm Echo Elden, and I'm entering as a Ninetales."

"That's great. I take it that Ninetales is your favorite Pokemon?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Echo replied before feigning a thoughtful frown. "Hey, a friend of mine is thinking about raising a Psychic type Pokemon…Any suggestion?" If she is a Gardevoir, I hope she didn't see this coming...

"Hmmm, it's pretty good to teach a Psychic Pokemon the Psychic attack in general, but…I kinda like Future Sight!"

Echo and Zeffie handed in their entry forms and began to walk into the crowd.

"Future Sight, huh? Any guesses about whose going to win the contest?" Echo asked casually, waving towards the other contestants.

Zeffie shot Echo a quick look. "Well, anyone could win. The people here did a really good job with the dressing up and the make-up…" she trailed off. "I don't really have a clue about who could win."

"Oh, you sure?" Echo locked onto Zeffie's red eyes, using an ability that she normally only used in battle: Confuse Ray. Zeffie wobbled as if her sense of balance was suddenly off, but it didn't affect her totally. Instead she shook it off and stared at Echo incredulously.

"Why do you ask…?"

"People! The contest is about to begin! If you would, please take a number from the box on the table in the center of the room and line up according to your number from 1-50. Staff, please report to the back room!" A voice called over the intercom that Echo recognized as belonging to the man who had directed her to the contest.

Zeffie walked towards the table, confused, but Echo stopped her with a short sentence.

"I'm a friend!"

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Will glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. 10:45. Time to get moving. He stood up from his comfortable position on the Pokemon Center couch and walked out the door leisurely, hands hidden in pockets, brushing the tips of the grass blades with the bottom of his shoe before taking each step.

Suddenly, a small radish-like Pokemon burst from the bushes, running in front of the Pokemon center in a blind panic, as quickly as its tiny blue legs could carry it. Behind it, a Skarmory flew into the air, steel wings shining, with a cry and blasted at the ground with the whirlwinds generated by the powerful wings. The trainer gasped.

"Watch out!" he shouted, diving in front of the wild Oddish, grabbing it before it could be blown away and seriously hurt. Skarmory continued the Gust attack, trying to blow both the boy and the Oddish away, but failed. Miffed, the bird cawed and flew away.

Will smiled and looked at the Oddish, checking for any injuries. The Oddish had none. letting Will relax.

"Are you okay, Oddish?" he asked gently. The Oddish looked down, as if checking itself for injuries and shyly contemplating its answer. Its answer came quickly enough: it grinned evilly and began to melt. The blue and green plant was suddenly replaced by a pink blob. Will dropped the Ditto in shock and backed away when it began to grow.

The Ditto transformed into an exact copy of the attacking Skarmory. Will scrambled to his feet and ran, but the Skarmory-Ditto's claws rapidly latched unto his arm, dragging him into the sky.

"Hey, let me go, you insane Ditto! I just saved you!" Will yelled at the steel bird, but it ignored him. Instead, it called into the sky, signaling its owner and landed on the roof of the store.

Below, all entrances and exits of the Lilycove Department Store slammed shut, tightly locked. All entrances locked except the roof entry, which had swung open at that very moment

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"Oh, great. What's going on _now_..." Echo muttered, looking around in the darkened room. All of the windows and doors had suddenly closed and the lights had turned off. Several people screamed, and several "Ouch!"es and "Sorry!"s later, a fair-sized crowd could be heard banging against the doors and windows. "Zeffie! Are you in here?"

"Yeah, I'm right here!" the familiar replied, a scared tone in her voice, right next to Echo. "What's going on?"

"I have a guess..."

"Attention boys and girls!" a harsh voice shouted over the racket. "You'll all be safe as long as you do what we say, got it?"

Echo glared at the source of the voice. "Guess confirmed. Team Aqua."

In reply to the Team Aqua member's statement, a boy shouted back from the crowd, followed by murmurs of agreement. "Who are you to tell us what to do?"

A spotlight lit a ledge high above the ground, built into the wall of the room, where three figures stood. One was a man garbed in the red uniform of Team Aqua. The second was a small, pink Ditto. The third was an boy, bound and gagged...

"Will!" Echo screamed.

"You know him?" Zeffie asked.

"He's my master—err—friend!"

The man spoke again, answering the rebellious boy. "I, Mimeo Parrot, am an administrator of Team Aqua and I advise that you don't make any more bold comments, brat. Ditto! Keep an eye on them!" Ditto nodded and jumped into the air, turning into a Swellow in midair. The admin walked out of the room through a door behind him, taking the struggling Will with him.

"We have to help him!" Echo yelled, racing for a ladder that led to the door. Zeffie, however, grabbed her shoulder and turned her around.

"The door's locked. You won't be able to get there like that. Besides..." Zeffie pointed up at the Swellow circling the room. "We're being closely watched. I have a better idea. Give me your hand!"

Echo raised an eyebrow at Zeffie, but then took her hand cautiously. Instantly, the dark room faded and the roof took its place.

Echo stared at Zeffie. "What was that?" she exclaimed. Zeffie smiled sheepishly.

"Teleport," she answered.

"Then I _was_ right about you! You _are_ a Gardevoir!" Echo grinned.

"And you're a Ninetales, right?"

The Ninetales nodded and took on a more serious look. "But…why? Why did you help me when you could've—"

"You seem to know more about...um...people with this sort of ability than most, so...And you needed help..."

"Thank you, Zeffie. I seriously owe you one. But, where are they?"

The Gardevoir shrugged. "I don't know...I thought they would be here..."

"Hey, how did you get up here?" The Aqua admin shouted from behind them, dropping

Will in shock. Even though his mouth was covered, they could still hear a few miffed grumbles coming from his direction.

Echo chuckled and gave a look to Zeffie concerning her 'guess'. "Nice..." Zeffie grinned apologetically and shrugged.

"Ditto, go!" Mimeo shouted, throwing a Pokeball into the air. A pink Pokemon popped out of the Pokeball and oozed on the ground. The opponents stared each other down, glaring at each other for a while before the Admin relaxed from his battle stance in confusion. "Oh, come now, send out your Pokemon. I would hate to harm women without a decent fight."

Echo and Zeffie glanced at each other.

"I'll keep them distracted," Echo whispered, "and you untie Will, okay?"

"Can you handle both of them?"

"Of course I can, now go!" Echo caught fire, transforming into her Pokemon form as Zeffie silently inched towards Will, trying to not catch the Mimeo's attention. Luckily, his attention was locked on Echo the Ninetales.

"You're the PokeMorph we've been after!" he exclaimed in surprise.

Echo blinked and sat, thinking over the word. "PokeMorph...I like it! Oh, and yep, that would be me."

"Insolent little...Ditto! Transform!" The Admin commanded. Ditto shifted and grew, becoming a complete copy of Echo, even adding in the puff of fire that Echo used to mock opponents.

"Fine, let's see how well you can handle my power, little copy-cat!"

By this time, Zeffie had reached Will and had begun untying the gagging handkerchief tied around his head. She untied it after a few tries and Will spat it out quickly.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"A thanks would've been more proper, but whatever. I'm Zeffie," she replied, working on the ropes. "I'm a friend of Ninetales-Girl over there, kinda...Echo, is it? But don't worry, we're on the same side. There, done!"

Will shook off the ropes and stood, assessing the battle.

"Hmm, can I help?" Zeffie asked shyly.

"You're a Pokemon too?" Will questioned, turning to face Zeffie.

"Yeah, I'm a Gardevoir."

Will nodded slightly, observing the battle with concentration. "Yeah...If you want to!" He answered with a smirk.

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"Ready, guys?" Will called.

Echo looked back to Will thoughtfully, but replied quickly. "Always ready! What's the plan?"

A new ally stepped into the fray gracefully, barely touching the ground and with the grace of an experienced dancer. "You know your own weaknesses better than anyone, Echo. You're going to need to make a plan," the Gardevoir stated in an ethereal voice.

Ninetales gave a hopeless glance to her teammates. "Erm, know where we can get a lot of water, really quickly?"

"Ditto! Use Confuse Ray on the Gardevoir!" Mimeo suddenly commanded.

Will bit his lower lip. After the hundreds of times he had seen Echo using Confuse Ray, he knew that the trouble would start before the action even began. That is, if the Confuse Ray worked…

"Zeffie, try Calm Mind!" Echo suddenly yelled, running at an angle around the Ditto, who was currently too busy following orders. Zeffie nodded and stopped moving completely, an aura suddenly appearing and vibrating. After a tense moment, the Ditto broke its eye contact and growled.

Mimeo growled as well. "What happened!" The only one who could answer, however, wasn't exactly planning on stopping. Instead, Echo turned towards the copier and charged, ramming into the Ditto's side. The Ditto's paws left the air briefly as it flew to the side, landing on the ground with a thud and a yelp. It returned to its feet immediately, its tails burning at the tips. The flames were extinguished quickly as a look of utter surprise crossed it face. Suddenly, the Ditto flipped upside down, rose into the air, and was slammed back down.

"Owww…" Echo grimaced for the Ditto, "that's gonna hurt…"

Zeffie laughed quietly, still concentrating and her arms still in a pose for another telekinetic attack in case the Ditto had more endurance than she thought. As the dust cleared away from the attack scene, the victor was clear.

Lying on a cracked section of concrete was the pink Ditto, totally unconscious.

"YES!" Will and Zeffie cheered, Echo laughing happily.

The Team Aqua Admin growled and returned Ditto to its Pokeball before running back to the door he had entered from. "Wait!" The threesome chased after him, following him down the stairs and to a door that was abruptly shut in their faces. Screams were heard from the other side of the door with the sound of a window breaking. Will swung the door open, but the Admin had already gotten away.

Through the broken window, they could see him and the Swellow flying into the distance towards the east...

"Team Aqua's hide out…Ditto will transform into a Wailmer and they'll go in through the underwater entrance…" Zeffie said. Will and Echo stared at her and she gave them a smile. "Hey, at least my Future Sight works _sometimes_!"

Random Author Gibberish and Q&A

Heh, whoops! Didn't think I would actual get this chapter done for a moment there! Lots of stuff was preventing me from posting this earlier, but…I think school might be the biggest one…

Anyways, thanks for reading the third chapter of Emerald Star. I think I'm starting to realize some things about this story…First of all, I just realized that I have more back story than actual story here…You know, kind of like when a video game has more side quests than actual video game! Secondly, the slowly forming ending…Well, let's just say that there's bound to be some rotten tomatoes thrown in my general direction…I'll leave you to guess what I mean! Muahaha!

And, last but not least, thanks for the reviews! As for Nyaa-Neko's question…I actually had the whole PokeMorph thing sorted out at one point…Anyways, I think that it would sort of be like how Pokemon are in the wild. Lots of Rattata/Pidgey/other common Pokemon; not a lot of Pokemon like…say…Absol. So, you might have a lot of 'common' PokeMorphs, and not too many 'uncommon' ones. As for the evolution thing…Say that there's a Charmander PokeMorph. As a human baby or toddler, their Pokemon form would be that of a Charmander. As a kid, like…5 to 10 or something, they would be a Charmeleon. And as they reach that dreaded age, puberty, they become a Charizard. Whoa, bad example…just imagine a ten-year old kid running around with that sort of fire-breathing power…OO!

Anyways, thanks again! ;

Legends Told


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